A Wish Upon a Shooting Star
by KrymsonDranzer
Summary: [TyKa] A young heir lost in the cold lands of Russia...a young man determined to find him...will these two best friends ever find each other...? And perhaps a little more?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, and I don't own the Disney movie that inspired this. And it can't really be considered their idea anymore since I've twisted the thing so much in the upcoming chapters that its not really like the real Disney movie anymore...I just don't want to get sued...not that I have anything to give anyways...perhaps a few pieces of eraser shavings...

**A Wish Upon a Shooting Star**

**Prologue **

**by KrymsonDranzer**

Shrieks sounded throughout the castle. Fires blazed through various openings in the southern wing as doors were heard slamming open.

A woman and two eight-year old boys ran through the hallways before finally coming to a stop inside her chambers. They panted tiredly as the woman locked and barred the door with her drawers.

"My son..." She knelt down in front of a blue-eyed little boy and cupped his cheeks with both her hands.

"Mama..." He weakly whimpered as the other crimson-eyed boy stared on silently, yet worriedly.

"Take him through the passage and run."

"But Mama..." Her son protested.

A loud bang was heard as the soldiers outside rammed against the door.

"Go!" She gestured frantically towards the bookshelf. "Take the heir and run!"

The boy looked indecisive for a moment before a look of determination came over him. "C'mon!" He reached out, dragged the young heir behind him towards bookshelf, and pulled out a book at the bottom slightly. The bookshelf slid over about a foot, just enough for the boys to slip through. The shelf slid closed behind them just as the door slammed open.

"Where is he!?!" The old duke demanded.

The woman smiled victoriously. "Gone. And you'll never catch him if I have anything to say about it."

Voltaire snarled. "Fine then!" A gunshot was heard and the woman fell, dark red blood flowing beside her motionless body.

"FIND HIM!"

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Meanwhile, outside, two small boys struggled through the deep snow. "C'mon! Hurry up! We have to get out of here!"

"I can't!" The crimson-eyed boy fell as he almost lost consciousness. Summoning Dranzer to his aid against his grandfather had taken a lot out of him.

The other boy dragged him upwards onto his feet.

"There they are!" A guard in the distance shouted.

"Oh no!" The blue-eyed boy shouted and dragged the other as quickly as possible out of the property and into the suburbs of Russia. They quickly ran into a train station where a train was slowly leaving. The blue-eyed boy hopped onto the train and reached out his hand to the other to help him on, but at that moment, the train picked up speed, leaving the other behind. The boy tried to jump off the train to stay with the other, but the other passengers held him back.

"NO!" I have to stay with him! Let me go!"

"Are you crazy, little boy? You'll die if you jump out now!" One of the men holding him said, disbelievingly.

"I'm the only other person he knows!" At this moment, the Russian heir tripped and fell, his head slamming against the hard ground, knocking him unconscious. The other's eyes widened. "No...LET ME GOOO!!! KAI!!!" The boy's voice faded in the distance as the train sped off.

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**OMFG!!! I can't believe I actually wrote this!!! I mean, it was stuck in my head for a while now, but this is a bit much...lolz, well, it just tells you how obsessed I am...please Read and Review please?**

**And I'm sure you can guess what this is similar to...although..there'll be a few changes...like the caring grandparent part...cause I don't think Voltaire's exactly...caring...**

**Funny thing was though, I just wanted to do a Disney parody...and I was trying to figure out what was similar enough to be able to do one for Beyblade...then I thought of Russia...which led to the Disney movie...then I remembered that Kai lost his memory too...and he escaped from an castle-like abbey...yeah...and practically all he has is his grandfather too...well, besides his friends, but yeah...isn't it weird? lolz.**

**Oh! I would like to thank you all who reviewed my other fic! I'll continue it, but it might take a while for the next chapter for that fic to come up...mainly because I'm not used to writing such long chapters...but please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, nor do I own the Disney movie that inspired this...I just don't want to get sured….although…its not really their idea anymore…cause I've twisted it so much that it's pretty much an original plotline now…and this is the last disclaimer I'm putting up. Anyone who wants to read the disclaimer again should read it here. Although, why you'd want to read the disclaimers over and over again, I have no clue…

**A Wish Upon a Shooting Star**

**Chapter 1**

**By KrymsonDranzer**

Thick eyelashes fluttered open to reveal sleepy crimson eyes. Owner of said eyes sat up slowly as he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in what seemed like a hospital wing. Two aisles of stark white beds and bare walls. His head snapped around as the door slammed open to reveal a shriveled old man.

Crimson eyes met malicious golden eyes that widened in shock.

"Who are you?"

----------------------

"But Sir!" A redheaded boy protested as he followed the orphanage manager down the hallways to the hospital wing.

"No BUTS!" A violet-haired old man snarled. Golden eyes flashed in menace at the young boy, causing him to shrink back. "I've TOLD you not to bring in any more stupid children! I don't care if they're sick or in danger of dying!" He slammed the door open, only to see a pair of bright crimson eyes staring at him, confused.

He bit back a gasp of delight and schooled his face to be emotionless.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled. "I am Boris. And this," he gestured to the redhead, "is Tala. He is the one who found you in the snow."

"Oh." The crimson-eye boy was silent for a moment. "Where am I?"

"You are at my orphanage. What is your name?"

"...Kai..." The boy trailed off.

He almost uncharacteristically jumped for joy. This boy could quite possibly be Voltaire's grandson! Only that strange demon-boy heir had those red-eyes. His master would be quite pleased if he brought him in. "And your last name?"

"I-I...I don't...I don't know..." The boy seemed confused. "I don't remember anything at all..."

The man suppressed his snarl of frustration. There was no way he could present the boy to his master now. '_Although_,' he paused in thought, _'if I somehow manage to mold him into what Master wanted his grandson to be like, perhaps I can pass him off as his grandson!' _Coming to a decision, he told the boy, "In that case, why don't you stay here? We can provide you with shelter and food and anything you want."

"...alright..."

"But-" The redhead, Tala, tried to protest, but Boris glared at him and quickly shushed him.

"Now then, why don't you get some rest? Dinner is in a few hours at seven. Enjoy your day." The man left the room and closed the door, leaving the two boys alone.

The silence between the two boys dragged on for a while.

"Why...why did you agree to stay?" Tala asked quietly.

Kai shrugged. "I have nowhere else to go. And besides, I don't have any of my memories."

"Oh." Tala spoke up after a moment. "You might want to be careful around here. The boys here at this abbey aren't exactly the nicest people around."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Abbey?"

"Yeah. This is actually an abbey. You can't just leave once you've agreed to stay though. The guards will make sure of that."

"Guards?"

Tala shrugged. "Yeah, this is actually a training ground."

"What!?!" Came Kai's shocked reply.

Tala looked apologetic. "Sorry, I did try to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me. Oh, and you don't want to get on his bad side. The punishment's pretty bad."

Kai frowned. "I suppose." _'I guess I'm in for another few years of torture...'_

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A Year Later

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Thumps were heard as a group of boys gathered around a small petite boy laying on the ground in the snow. They were all kicking him wherever they could find, maliciously smirking. After what seemed like an endless amount of time to the tortured boy had passed, the group stopped.

"Heh. Serves him right."

"Stupid fag never gets punished."

"Wonder what he does to get on Boris's good side." One sneered.

"Probably lets him use him as a toy."

"Heh. Maybe we should take a go at him. See what's so good about him."

Crimson eyes widened in horror as the group of older boys reached towards him. A flash of red and gold served in front between the to-be-rapists and the boy and screeched.

"Shit!"

"My hand's on fire!"

"Run!"

Frightened red eyes looked up to see his firey savior, only to collapse before being able to see him or her clearly. Mournful red, tearful eyes stared at the small boy before a resolute expression came over its face. With a loud shriek, it cast a spell, a spell that would seal the boy's heritage until the time came for it to be revealed.

"Kai!" A voice shouted from afar. As the bird heard the call, it disappeared in a swirl of flames.

"KAI!" Tala came to a stop, kneeling in front of the battered boy. "Shit. Who did this to you?" Red eyes fluttered open slightly before they fell closed. "Damnit! We have to get you back to the abbey."

Tala picked Kai up and began the long, tedious trek back to the abbey as a single thought went through Kai's mind before he passed out. _'I _will _escape from here...someday...'_

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In another city, a midnight-haired boy laying in the comforts of his newly found grandfather's home gazed out at the stars. After getting off the train, he had collapsed against a wall. Almost three days had passed before anyone noticed him. However, the first thing they did was take him to an orphanage and throw him in. Unfortunately for him, it was an abusive orphanage. He escaped and wandered the streets, stealing food to eat whenever he could, trying to find a way back to his charge. He lived life this way until one day, he had collapsed in exhaustion in front of an old man. Surprisingly, the man knew his name.

"Ta-TAKAO!?"

He wearily raised his head to look at the old man once before falling unconscious. When he woke up, he was in a soft, comfortable bed. Disoriented, he almost fell out of the bed when the old man came in. Not recognizing him, he thanked him for his hospitality and apologized for being a bother, only to receive "What, my own grandson doesn't remember his grandpa?" as a reply.

Shocked, he looked at his caretaker more carefully. He did look familiar. "How-how would you know if I'm your grandson or not?"

The man laughed. "Well, no one in these parts would answer to the name Takao. Nor would they have eyes as blue as yours and hair the same shade as yours."

Takao blushed as he realized this. "Ah...oops?"

"Well, since you're awake, I'll go get you lunch."

"...thank you."

"Eh...no problem. Just get better and tell this old man what's happened. Last I heard, you and your mom were still in that castle."

Takao sighed. "It's a long story."

"Alright. I'll get you lunch first."

That had been a week ago. He had finally recovered enough to start looking for Kai once again. Perhaps he'll have more luck now that he had someone he could ask for help. As he closed his eyes, he promised, _'I'll find you Kai. No matter how long it takes me, I'll find you someday...'_

**O.O!!! WOW!!! I actually finished this chapter! Yay!!! Yeah, Not so Disney anymore, I know. But I never said it'd be full out Disney. The underlying basic plotline's the same….but quite a few things have changed…and once could definitely see the changes in the first chapter…the summoning Dranzer part should have given it away…anyways…PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!! Thank you!!!**

**To the Reviewers: **

**bloodstar** – Well…I WAS originally gonna do a parody of Anastasia…but then I realized that I suck at parodies cause I can't write humor to save my life…and besides that, I wanted to change so many things (and did change it) that it can't really be considered theirs anymore…only the beginning kinda matches…and even then, not all of it does…sweatdrop And thank you very much for your review!

**Lady of the Damned Land** – Wow! I read your profile and found out that you don't exactly like yaoi, but I'm glad you decided to read my fic…and I'm very glad that it was good enough. Thanks!

**EmeraldWolfChild** – Well, I'll try to update as much as possible, but I can't promise anything. Thank you for the review though!

**AWUaSS** – One question, do you always use the first letters of the title of the fic you read as your name? Or is this just a coincidence? The only reason why I recognized it was because I saved my documents like that….so it looked REALLY familiar…lolz. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

**CherryBlossom** – Well, that's because I DID base it off of Anastasia…figures that I twisted the thing so much that its not gonna resemble that movie very much anymore…oh sure, there'll be the evil villain thing, but most stories have them…I just didn't want to get sued… And thanks!

**MikaMiko **- Thanks!

**Alerts:**

**PhoenixFlare** – I COMPLETELY agree with your thoughts about Beyblade fics… Its either Takao and Kai are together, or they're not with anyone at all…period. I SOOO cannot stand it when they get paired with other people…even less if it's an original character...those make me mad…

**Dannee-san** – I'm glad both my fics made it onto your alerts list! Thank you! Oh! And thank you for your review for my other fic too!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I already told you, read the previous chapter's disclaimer! It's pretty pointless to keep repeating this thing…I wish I owned Beyblade…Takao and Kai would definitely be together…duh.

**A Wish Upon a Shooting Star**

**Chapter 2**

**By KrymsonDranzer**

"Kai! Are you ready yet?"

Kai grunted as he lifted his trunk and dragged it into the main hall of the abbey. He was finally leaving it. Perhaps not for good, but at least he wasn't going to be living there for the next few years or so. Boris had decided to send him and Tala off to a boarding school in St. Petersburg to get rid of the 'troublesome little maggot' as he liked to call him. Kai smirked at the reason. It was funny really. After that time when he was almost raped out in the snow three years ago, his eyes had turned into a chocolate brown color and two streaks of blue and appeared on each of his cheeks. He didn't know what they were, but they seemed to be tattooed on since he couldn't remove them no matter what he did. But boy, did Boris ever throw a fit when he saw the difference in his appearance. After that, the shriveled old man never bothered nor doted on him quite as much, and Kai was quite glad for it. It was creepy the way Boris stared and touched him sometimes. He could have sworn that the man practically caressed his cheek once when he ran into him. (A/N: Boris actually did that in the anime...-shivers- yuck..that was creepy...think it was episode 43 or something...it was the episode when Kai first remembered that he came from the abbey...)

But Kai did wonder how the tattoos and change in eye color happened. Tala had asked him before about it, but he could never quite find an answer to tell the redhead. However, since Boris left him alone because of it, he was happy.

He threw his trunk into the back of the carriage that was to take him and Tala to their new place of residence and climbed into the carriage itself. The ride to the city was silent, until Tala spoke up.

"Hey, Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think the city's gonna be like?

"Don't know."

Tala snorted. "Probably don't care either." He paused. "But I'm glad you're getting away from the creepy old bastard though."

Kai said nothing, face remaining expressionless. Tala may be his closest friend now, but something felt missing. He felt like there was an empty hold inside him that was supposed to be filled by someone long forgotten. An hour passed in silence, and they both fell asleep.

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"Sirs. We have arrived." The driver said as the carriage stopped.

Kai and Tala jolted awake and rubbed the blurriness from their eyes.

"We're here?" Tala yawned.

"We should get our trunks."

"Party-pooper."

Kai ignored him and got out of the carriage. He dragged his own trunk out of the carriage before dumping Tala's on the ground.

"Hey! Be careful with that!"

Kai snorted. "If you want it to be treated carefully, then do it yourself."

Tala pouted. "Meanie."

Kai ignored him again and looked at their surroundings. The school they were at was made of large tan bricks, standing tall in a gothic style, with the spirals and all. Black iron gates fenced the school and its spacious snow-covered yard. Rows of bare trees bordered the pathways leading around and into the school. It was almost like the abbey, only, it was slightly more cheerful. And he really doubted that there were torture chambers and dungeons under the school under the disguise of a basement and training hall.

"It looks like the abbey." Tala said flatly. He had been hoping for a change in the dreary environment. Too bad he didn't get it.

"Hn." Kai lifted his trunk and dragged it to the front gates where the headmaster was waiting for them. An elderly man stood wrapped warmly in his parka and sweatpants. When they reached him, the man smiled kindly.

"Hello boys. I hope you had a safe and comfortable trip."

"We did..." Tala said, slowly.

" Good! I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. It's nothing elaborate, but it is quite grand." He motioned for them to follow him as he took them on a tour about the school. "Oh! And you can leave your trunks here. Paul, here, can take them to your room." The gateman saluted them and moved to take their trunks. Tala and Kai looked at each other and shrugged before letting both their trunks drop to the ground.

The headmaster began his introductory lecture again as they continued their tour. "This school was actually modeled after the former Russian palace before it was conquered. Of course, the royal family escaped to one of their relatives' castles in the north, but they say that part of the home of the duke they stayed in was blown up a few years ago." He leaned in conspiratorially. "No one knows why, but some say that he was trying to mold the heir into his puppet. Unfortunately for him, the boy rebelled."

Kai froze in shock at how familiar the story sounded. He could almost imagine the fire consuming the stone castle...he shook his head. How would he know what the castle looked like? He'd never even been there before!

A voice interrupted his thoughts. "You okay?" Tala whispered.

Kai looked over at him. "Yeah." He tilted his head back to stare at the sky. "I just kind of wish I had my memories back..."

Tala sympathetically shook his head. "Don't we all. Maybe you'll lighten up then." He joked.

Kai gave him a flat stare before walking ahead to catch up to the headmaster. Tala sighed at his friend's actions. He smiled ruefully. It was funny. Up until Kai showed up, he had no desire to make friends...nor make anyone feel better. But now, he actually wanted to help Kai regain his memories. Perhaps it was the fact that Kai seemed to treat him normally instead of like a pet experiment like Boris did sometimes. Or maybe even because he knew how Kai felt. He, himself, had been in the abbey ever since he was three. Not many of his memories from before that existed. When he looked up to begin running to catch up to Kai and the headmaster, he saw a solid black wall an inch from his face. Unfortunately, he ran right into it, only to find that it wasn't a wall after all. It was a person.

"Ouch!" Tala yelped as he fell onto his behind. The other person had only stumbled back slightly. "Watch where...you're...going...?" He trailed off as he looked up to see a slightly older teen staring back at him. A really TALL one who wore mostly all black. He had light lavender-colored hair and chuckled sheepishly. "Uhm...sorry?"

They stared at each other a little while longer before the other boy reached out a hand and pulled him up. The boy gave him a strange stare before asking for his name.

"Huh?" Tala snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, uhm, I'm Tala..."

Bryan looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm...Tala, hmm? Well, nice to meet you. You're a new student here, correct?"

Tala blinked. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"I know every face in this school. You're not one of them." Bryan grinned. "Besides, I'd recognize that hair anywhere if I'd seen it before. It's quite...unique."

Tala scowled. "Are you making fun of my hair!?!?" He screeched.

Bryan chuckled. "No, not at all."

"Tala!"

Both boys looked up to see Kai tapping his foot impatiently on the other side of the building.

"I think I should get going..."

"Yes, you probably should. Perhaps I'll see you around sometime soon."

"Probably." Tala agreed as he started running off.

"Look for me in the northern wing, room C-12." Bryan's voice called after him.

He never saw Bryan staring after him thoughtfully, as if he was contemplating some deep issue.

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A heavy sigh was heard as Tala threw himself onto his bed in his new room. Kai, who was luckily his roommate, sat down on his own bed and began to unpack. Tala rolled over on his bed onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember where the C rooms in the north wing are?"

Kai glanced at him impassively. "Why would you want to know?"

"No reason."

"..."

"Alright! I met this guy earlier and he told me to come visit him in room C-12 in the northern wing."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "And you're willing to go to some strange person's room just because you ran into him?"

"Hey! He seemed like a nice guy!" Tala said defensively.

"Sure." Kai snorted.

Tala frowned. "Fine-"

A knock interrupted their argument. Kai frowned. "Who could be looking for us at this time of the day? All the students should still be in class..." He got up to open the door, revealing a certain lavender-haired teen.

Tala sat up abruptly. "Bryan! What are you doing here? How'd you even find us?"

Kai raised an eyebrow at him from behind Bryan's back as if to say, _**'This **is the Bryan you were talking about?'_

Bryan grinned. "Well, it actually wasn't that hard finding you guys. All I had to do was ask the headmaster, and he told me."

Kai moved to sit on his own bed. "Who are you really? If you're a student, you should be in classes." Kai said suspiciously.

Bryan smirked. "Let's just say that I have certain privileges."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

Bryan sighed. "Alright. I'm a student here, but I don't really attend the classes. I'm already ahead of the class anyways."

Tala blinked. "Wow."

"Yeah. It's nothing. I just have a lot of free time on my hands, so I got bored and decided to visit you guys." Bryan pulled a chair over from one of the desks provided and sat down. "So, how are you settling in?"

Tala shrugged. "We're fine...so far."

Kai stayed silent and continued unpacking.

Bryan raised his eyebrow. "Oh? Why did you choose to come to this school then?"

Tala laughed. "Choose? More like ordered. Our 'caretaker' didn't want us around anymore so he decided to ship us off to some school to get us out of his hair."

Bryan frowned. "And this caretaker would be...?"

"Boris. Boris Balkov."

"That name...sounds familiar..." Bryan snapped his fingers in recognition. "Wasn't he that man who used to work under Voltaire?"

Neither realized that Kai's head had snapped up at the name.

Tala blinked. "I...don't know..." He shrugged. "He never really let me or Kai stay around him much."

Bryan frowned. "How did you two even end up with him anyways?"

Tala shrugged. "Bad luck? Don't know. I don't even remember why I was even there. I think I just showed up on his doorstep one day when I was three. No memories either. And then I found Kai here five years after that. Funny thing is, he doesn't have any memories either!" Tala laughed.

"Tala!" Kai glared at him. "Can you **stop **telling him every single detail about our life!?"

"But maybe he can help us." Tala pointed out. "You DO want your memories back, right?"

Kai frowned. "Well, yes, but-"

"Then no buts." Tala said firmly. "I think that we need all the help we can get. And Bryan is trustworthy. Right?" Tala turned to him and gave him a pair of puppy-dog eyes.

Bryan blinked. He had been watching the two argue like he wasn't even there when Tala had just suddenly turned around and gave him an adorable look that collapsed his defenses. "Uh...right. Sure."

Tala pouted. "You don't mean it."

Bryan blinked. "Yes I do."

"Then prove it!"

"Prove it? How?"

"Uh..." Tala thought for a moment. "How about telling us something about yourself then?"

Bryan leaned back in his chair. "I don't really have anything to tell you..."

"Aww! C'mon! There has to be something!" Tala pestered the teen.

Bryan was silent for a long while. Tala almost gave up when Bryan finally spoke up. "You two can keep a secret, correct?"

Tala nodded immediately, giving a verbal affirmation, while Kai slowly nodded his consent.

"Well, if the royal family was still alive, I would have been engaged to the first cousin of the crown prince..."

Tala's jaw dropped in shock. "Holy..."

Kai stared incredulously at the other boy.

"Are-are you SERIOUS?!?!?" Tala was in shock.

Bryan nodded. "Yes. In fact, I'm still looking for them. I heard rumors that some members of the royal family were still alive, just in hiding. I want to find them."

"B-but that would mean that you're some upper class aristocrat!" Tala gaped.

Bryan nodded again. "Well, yeah." He stood up and took one of Tala's hands. He bowed at the waist and placed a light kiss on the back of the hand as he winked at Tala. "Duke Bryan Kuznetsov of the southern province at your service." (1)

Tala blushed as the other boy kissed his hand. Kai rolled his eyes. "Well, if you're done flirting, mind showing us where we can get dinner?"

Bryan released Tala's hand and straightened up. "Sure."

"Then let's get going."

"Huh? Oh, right." Tala was still slightly dazed. Kai gently pushed him out the door after Bryan before stepping out himself and locking the door.

"Well? Lead the way." The three boys headed to the cafeteria for dinner rather calmly, never anticipating the events to come in the future.

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**(1) I made the duke and southern province stuff up. I don't even know what the ranks are...nor do I know what provinces/sectors Russia has...  
**

**To the Reviewers: **

**Cherry Blossom - Thanks for the review! You'll get your wish soon enough... Although...especially judging by this chapter...I've gone WAAAAY off the movie... And I'm glad you're another TyKa fan too! I just LOVE that pairing! They're so adorable together!!!**

**AWUaSS - You never answered my question, but thanks for reviewing!**

**Lady of the Damned - I'm glad you think this fic is worth your effort to read. Thanks for the review!**

**MikaMiko - Yeah, it's seriously deviating from the movie...but I'm having fun! And thanks for reviewing!**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW EVERYONE!!! **


	4. Chapter 3

**A Wish Upon a Shooting Star**

**Chapter 3 **

**by KrymsonDranzer **

"You two ready?" Bryan asked as he opened the door to their room and stuck his head in.

"As ready as we'll ever be..." Tala muttered. Kai just nodded. All of their belongings had been packed and sent to Bryan's luxurious home a few days prior. All they had left were light travel bags. They were going to Paris via a train from Moscow. They had found a lead as to where the remaining royal family members were staying after three years at the academy. Strangely enough, Bryan thought that perhaps they would have some answers for Tala and Kai. But a lead was a lead. At least they were getting somewhere, and Kai and Tala were finally, and hopefully permanently, escaping Boris's clutches.

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"Thank you." A blunette shook hands with his client as the client left. He sat down heavily and sighed deeply. It had already been seven years since he had last seen Kai. Sometimes, he found himself doubting whether Kai was still alive or not, but he always shook his head and renewed his determination. He would NOT give up on Kai until he found him, and hopefully alive. He would never forgive himself if something had happened to the duel-haired heir. His grandfather, quite frankly, thought he was crazy for being so hung up on Kai, but he just couldn't help it. He never realized when his obsession, determination, and promise to his mother to protect and care for Kai had turned into love. He shook his head wryly. "Well, I'd better get back to work now." He echoed to himself in the empty room. Ironically enough, he was now running a detective agency. He would track people down for his clients through various contacts while also searching for Kai. It was funny to see some of his employees' and clients' reactions sometimes. They couldn't believe that a sixteen year old was running an agency by himself. But he was desperate, and he was successful at his job. Now if only he could find Kai...

Quite recently, he'd received a message from one of his more reliable sources that the royal family was still alive, or at least some of it. Another told him that they were living in Paris. He thought that it was quite a long way, but he supposed that it made sense since Voltaire HAD been trying to assassinate the entire family...even if Voltaire himself was part of that family. Takao, himself, thought that Voltaire was crazy for trying to murder his own family for power, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it even if he wanted to. He was just supposed to escape with the prince and he even messed that up!

He finished up the documents for that day and went home to pick up his luggage and say goodbye to his grandfather before departing for Moscow. There were no trains that ran to Paris in the city he currently lived in. It was quite a few days' detour, but he supposed it was alright. He could as around for more information during the long trip. He just wished that Kai was with him. Kai would've liked to see the sights. The boy had been quite curious about many things, even if he didn't seem like it. After Takao, his mother, and Kai had moved in with Voltaire after the attempted assassination on the entire royal family, Kai stopped smiling as freely as he had before. It was unfortunate that they had no other place to go after the palace burned down. To make matters worse, they didn't know where the other royal members had taken shelter. They had no choice but to take shelter with Voltaire. Takao scowled as he got on the train. _'Stupid Voltaire took away his smile...' _

When he arrived at the Moscow station, he stepped off the train and bought his ticket to Paris from the teller. 'Let's see...Station E12...E12...E12...' "Ouch!" He had crashed into a redheaded teen during his search.

"Watch where you're going!" The other teen snarled.

Takao blinked before frowning. "Well _sorry_!"

The redhead 'hmphed' and brushed himself off before walking away, leaving Takao sitting on the ground.

"Geez.." Takao muttered as he stood up. After half an hour and only a few minutes before his train left, he decided to ask someone where his station was. The old woman he asked pointed in the direction he had come from and told him that it was on the other side of entire complex. It was then that he realized that E12 was probably on the left of the train he had gotten off in the first place.

He dashed back to the E12 station and barely managed to board the train.

--------------------------------------

Kai looked out the window from his seat on the train as he noticed a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye.

"What is it?" Tala asked curiously.

"Huh?" Kai turned back around. "Oh, it's nothing..."

--------------------------------------

A Day Later in Kolingrad

--------------------------------------

"You know, I've always found it funny that there's a little piece of Russia so far and separated from the mainland." Tala remarked.

Kai just grunted.

Bryan looked around at the market stalls curiously. "Wanna go take a look at the stalls? We might as well do some sightseeing for the next 6 hours or so while the train refuels."

"Sure!" Tala eagerly followed behind the lavender-haired teen, well, adult now really. Bryan had turned eighteen not too long ago. Tala himself was still sixteen while Kai had only turned fifteen not too long ago.

Three hours later, Tala and Kai wearily dragged themselves around while Bryan was still unfazed.

"Bryan! How come you're not tired?" Tala whined. His legs were sore from all the fast-paced walking. Kai was probably int he same situation, only, Kai never did show his weaknesses quite as openly.

Bryan grinned. "I get out more than you. It's pretty useful not having to attend most of your classes."

Tala pouted, for this was true. While he and Kai had managed to become two of the top students at the academy, it had taken him almost 2 and a half years before managing to do it. Kai only took one year, surprisingly. He had almost thrown a tantrum when he found out.

"Let's just get something to eat for now. We can rest then, too." Kai interrupted.

"Sure." Bryan said. He scanned the street for any seemingly good restaurants.

"I think I saw a pretty good restaurant about two blocks back..." Tala said as he thought musingly.

Bryan shrugged. "Well, let's go then."

They quickly made their way to the restaurant and ate lunch. It was quite different from what they were used to, even if they had ordered the same foods. An hour later saw them on the streets once again. Bryan claimed that he wanted to take a look at something while he was there and quickly took off, leaving Kai and Tala by themselves.

"Hmm, maybe we should get something to eat and bring it with us on the train." Tala suggested.

Kai thought about it. It seemed logical seeing as the food sold on the train itself was quite expensive. "Alright." They ended up getting some fruits at a stall since fruits would last them a few days. Tala went in search of some oranges while Kai hung about the apples.

As Kai reached for an apple, another hand closed down on top of his, apparently reaching for the same apple. Only, Kai had gotten to it before the other person. Kai scowled. He didn't like anyone, and especially not a stranger, touching him. Even if it made him feel strangely warm.

"Oh! I'm...sor...ry..."

Kai looked up to see a blunette staring at him. "What?"

The other teen shook his head. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew." He laughed sheepishly. "Actually, I'm still looking for them. And you just happen to look amazingly like him..." He sighed wistfully. "I thought that I actually found him after all these years when I saw you, too."

"Years?" Kai raised an eyebrow. Whoever this missing person was must have been quite important to the other teen for him to search for years.

"Yeah..." The blunette paused. "Seven years now to be exact."

Kai froze. Seven years ago had been when he had lost his memories and ended up in the abbey. He shook his head. No, it couldn't have been. He wasn't that important for someone to actually spend seven years searching for him.

"I started a detective agency because I wanted to look for him actually." The blunette admitted. Although, he didn't know why he felt so comfortable around this stranger that he would blurt out everything about his life. Then he remembered his manners. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Takao. Takao Kinomiya. You?"

Kai stared at the hand held out for him and hesitated. Then he just figured that he'd just go with the flow. "Kai. No last name though. I don't remember it..." He muttered.

Takao froze the moment he heard the other's name. It couldn't be...right? Kai had astonishingly bright crimson eyes. This stranger had chocolate brown eyes. Although he supposed it might just be a childhood thing, and the red could have just faded since Kai hadn't summoned Dranzer in so long...And the tattoos? Face paint? was another matter altogether. He knew that Kai wasn't exactly the picture perfect little boy, but he didn't think that Kai would go out to get shark fins painted or tattooed onto his face.

The Kai in front of him glanced up. "What?"

Takao snapped out of it. "Sorry. I-I...I just thought that you might actually be the one I was looking for..."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Takao laughed nervously. "The guy I'm looking for is named Kai, too. Ironic, isn't it?"

Kai's blood ran cold this time. Maybe he finally had a lead? But why would anyone want to spend seven years of their life looking for _him _of all people? He didn't think he had people who cared that much about him...

"Well, I'd better get back to my train before it leaves without me...will I ever see you again?" Takao asked, almost desperately. He really wanted to believe that the teen in front of him was the Kai he was looking for, but Kai hadn't shown any sign of recognition when he saw him.

Kai blinked. "Well, probably not..." He said slowly, seeing the other's eyes dim in disappointment. "I'm heading to Paris..."

Takao perked up. "Really? Which train are you taking?"

Kai shrugged. "The 405 Express?"

Takao couldn't believe his luck. This Kai was heading to Paris, too! "I guess I'll just see you on the train then! Which compartment are you in?"

Kai thought for a moment. "Compartment 16 I believe..."

"Okay! I'll find you in...half an hour then! I still need to do some shopping." Takao said cheerfully as he rushed to buy his supplies before the train left.

Kai shook his head as he stared after the blue eyed teen. He still couldn't believe that he told a stranger all that information. He was surprised that he even wanted to answer any of the other's questions. Well, the other _was _a detective...perhaps he could help him find his memories...?

"Hey Kai! You done yet?" Tala called from the other side of the stall.

Kai looked up. He saw Tala waving at him and grabbed several apples and paid for them before heading over to Tala who had a bag of various fruits in his arms. "Yeah..."

They waited at a corner for Bryan to return. When Bryan got back, he handed the two of them two twelve-inch long boxes.

"What is it?" Tala asked curiously.

"Just a little precaution."

Kai and Tala opened up their boxes to see a pair of beautifully made daggers each. They stared up at Bryan incredulously. "You're giving these to us?" Tala asked, shocked.

"Yeah. I figured that you two might want something to defend yourselves with in case anything happens." Bryan grinned.

"Are you calling us weak?!?!" Tala cried out, indignant.

Kai scowled at Bryan.

"No, no. It's just that you two aren't exactly the toughest looking guys around. Kai there looks amazingly like a spoiled, rich pretty boy, and you look just as defenseless. Perfect victims for murderers and thieves, actually." Bryan tried to assure them.

Kai gave him a flat stare. "That's not helping, you know."

"Eheheh..." Bryan rubbed the back of his head nervously. These two were dangerous when they got mad. "How about you two jsut keep those, and we just head back to the train before it leaves?"

Kai shrugged. "Sure."

Tala was still pouting. "Fine."

--------------------------------------

A while after the train began moving, a knock sounded on the door to their compartment. They all looked at each other questioningly before Kai remembered that Takao said that he'd visit. He just didn't think it'd be this soon. He got up to open the door, ignoring Bryan and Tala's confused looks. He opened to door to see a cheerful blunette on the other side.

"Hi!"

Kai muttered a greeting and went back to his seat as Takao took a seat next to him, across from Tala and Bryan. There was an awkward silence for a while before Bryan broke it.

"So...who are you?" Bryan asked suspiciously.

"Oh! I'm Takao Kinomiya. You?"

"Bryan..."

"Tala."

Takao frowned. "No last names..?"

Tala glared. "No. Is it that much of a problem?"

Bryan didn't answer.

"Oh no, I was just wondering, seeing as that would mean that none of you guys have or remember your last names." Takao assured.

Tala frowned. "You told him you didn't remember your name?" He asked Kai. He couldn't believe that Kai would tell a near perfect stranger one of their secrets!

Kai just grunted, although, one could see a small faint line of pink across the bridge of his nose.

Bryan frowned disapprovingly.

Takao watched all of these event with a careful eye. He spoke up. "If you're worried that I'll do something to harm you with the information, then don't. I'll keep it a secret."

Tala just scowled.

Kai sighed. "It's not that. It's just that we're...hiding from a certain...man..."

"Kai!" Bryan scolded.

"Hey! It's okay! I won't tell." Takao said in Kai's defense.

"That's not the point."

"Yeah. How come you're just telling him everything anyways, Kai?"

Kai paused. "He's a detective. He could help us."

"And how do you know that he's not working for Boris?" Tala said crossly.

"He doesn't. But I don't work for anyone. I follow only my own agenda."

"And how can we believe you?" Bryan questioned.

"Uh..." Takao rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I have no clue actually..."

"Tell us one of your secrets." Tala demanded.

Kai rolled his eyes. "What's with you and blackmail material..."

Tala shrugged. "Well, it works, doesn't it?"

Takao raised an eyebrow. "How would you even know if what I tell you is true or not."

"We'll be the judge of that." Bryan said.

Takao sighed. "Alright." He paused and thought. "What do you want to know anyways?"

"Uh..." Tala was at a loss of words for once.

Kai smirked. "Well, he shut you up good."

Tala flushed. "Shut up!"

Bryan broke up their argument. "Then we'll just keep asking questions until we're satisfied."

Takao considered. He didn't really have anything to hide...besides his existence from Voltaire. He was supposed to be dead along with the heir. "Sure."

"Why do you have your own agenda?" Tala asked.

"I don't like working for other people unless I feel like it. And I'm trying to find someone."

"Will you ever work for anyone?" Bryan asked.

Takao paused, unsure as to what to say. "Well, as a detective, never."

Tala raised an eyebrow. "'As a detective?' So you are working for someone!" He accused.

Takao sighed. "The only person I would ever work for is lost. I have no clue where they are anymore." He paused. "Well, I suppose I would work for his family...the ones that actually cared about him at least."

"Huh? You don't even know where your employer is??" Tala said incredulously.

Takao shrugged. "Well, no. The last time I saw him, I was eight."

Bryan was skeptical. "You're saying that you've worked for someone since you were eight. The only possible jobs at eight would be family jobs or servantile ones."

Takao flushed. "Yeah, I was a servant, big deal." He grumbled.

Tala laughed at him. "Were you really that desperate for money?" He smirked.

"No!" Takao snapped. "Excuse me for being loyal to the family that took care of mine when we needed it!"

Kai was silent. What Takao said sounded familiar somehow.

Bryan raised an eyebrow. "Who did you work for back then?"

Takao shifted uncomfortably. "Promise that you'll keep it a secret and I'll tell you."

Bryan, Tala, and Kai looked at each other before Bryan answered for all of them. "Sure."

Takao sighed, closing his eyes. "I...I was a servant for the royal family."

Tala sat up abruptly. "Say WHAT?!?!"

Kai snapped his head around to stare at Takao, shocked. Even Bryan was startled.

Bryan frowned. "But wait. Weren't all the servants ordered to be killed by Grand Duke Voltaire after that fire seven years ago because they let the prince escape? I heard that the prince attacked Voltaire and then had to run for his life."

Kai froze. That situation seemed shockingly familiar.

Takao sighed. "Yes. Several of the servants helped the prince escape because Voltaire wanted him dead. But what they didn't know was that ever since the palace burned down two years before that, Voltaire had been training the prince to be a puppet."

"WHAT!??!" Bryan was outraged. The Grand Duke abused his own grandson! The crown prince! After his fiancée had been kidnapped over a decade ago, he'd always had a soft spot for abused, kidnapped, or orphaned children. Even though it was an arranged marriage, he had met his fiancée once before the abduction. He had found the child cute and adorable and had even made a silly, childish promise to protect them. He snorted inwardly. That promise hadn't been kept, or otherwise, his fiancée would still be with him.

Takao winced at Bryan's shout. "Yeah."

Kai spoke up. "You were one of the ones who helped the prince escape, weren't you?"

Takao looked at Kai, startled. The other boy hadn't said anything until now. "Well...yes, I was."

Tala's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't much. I lost him not too long afterwards." He clenched his fist. "The people onboard the train wouldn't let me go to him. They wouldn't let me get off..."

"Wait, wait, what?" Tala interrupted.

Takao sighed. "I was the one who took the prince out of Voltaire's home." He spat out the name like it was poison. "We were going to board a train that was leaving. I jumped on and reached out for the prince, but the train sped up at that moment, leaving him behind after a short while." He had a distant look in his eyes, as if remembering the event. "I tried jumping off to stay with him, but the other passengers wouldn't let me go. He tripped and fell...and that was the last I ever saw of him..."

Bryan frowned. "The person you're looking for is the prince, isn't it."

Takao sighed. "Yes."

Bryan looked thoughtful. "Surprisingly, some of that fits the history of a certain person I know."

Kai stiffened.

"And wasn't the prince named Kai also?" He directed the question at Kai.

"Yes, but he should remember me, unless he lost...his memories..." Takao trailed off as his eyes widened at the realization. He turned to Kai. "You...you might actually be the prince!"

"What?"

"I mean, you look exactly like what he would look like now anyways, except for your eye color, but I guess that might've been a side effect from Dranzer, and you're the same age he would be now, and your story seems to fit almost perfectly, and he wouldn't have those blue marks, but I guess that could've changed, how did you get them anyways?" Takao blurted out.

"I-I..." Kai didn't know what to say. Sure, the story seemed extraordinarily familiar to him, but he wasn't anyone special...was he?

"Even if you lost your memories, some of the things we said would've sounded slightly familiar, right?" Takao reasoned.

"Well, yeah..." Kai shifted uncomfortably.

"See?" Takao gave him a bright smile. "I'm almost positive that you're the heir!"

Kai sighed. "Whatever you say." He just wanted his memories back.

Tala sat stunned. He was in the presence of two members of royalty. Well, one, but Bryan was practically royalty anyways, with his connection to the royal family and all.

Bryan leaned back in his seat. "Well, now we have an excuse to see the king and queen."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we already have one before?"

Bryan shrugged. "Well, no. I just figured that we'd take a chance and just try to walk in."

Tala stared at him disbelievingly. "Say **what**?!?!? Don't you have a connection with them?"

Bryan shrugged. "Well, yeah, but they're a lot more wary as to who they meet now, in case someone wants to assassinate them."

"They think you're going to kill them." Tala said flatly.

"No, but someone who's using my name might. And the servants don't know how I look like, and even if they did, they don't know me well enough to actually be able to tell the difference between an imposter and the real thing."

"Oh."

Takao paled. "Crap."

"What?" Tala asked.

"I'm going to meet the king and queen as a guest and you're asking me 'what?'!??!" Takao shouted incredulously. "I'm a servant! I don't _know _how to act properly!" He panicked.

Bryan laughed as Kai smiled humorously. Tala just stared.

"Don't worry, they're not that bad. They're pretty understanding, and they don't know you're a servant." Bryan assured.

"They will when they ask for confirmation for Kai..." Takao grumbled.

Bryan paused. "Well, I suppose, but they're not going to fault you for not being able to use every single utensil they lay out for dinner you know."

Takao groaned. "I'd forgotten about those...I remember there were what, 10? 11? 12? different forks, spoons, and knives..."

"What the...why do you need THAT many different utensils?!!?!" Tala really didn't see the point in having so many.

Bryan shrugged. "Custom?" Then he turned to Takao. "Where are you staying?"

Takao laughed sheepishly. "Eheheh...I got on this train too late, so I'm all the way in the first compartment near the engine."

Kai frowned. "Why don't you stay here then? It's not like we don't have room."

Takao perked up. "Really? Can I?"

Bryan nodded. "Sure. We have extra room anyways."

Takao hugged Kai, saying "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"

Meanwhile, Kai froze at the sudden contact before he reached up and awkwardly patted Takao's back. "You're welcome...?"

Takao released him and jumped up. "I'll go get my stuff then! I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Kai, Bryan, and Tala stared after the blunette as the door slammed shut.

"Well...that was...enlightening..." Bryan commented.

Tala snorted. "Tell me about it. Me a commoner, staying with two royal members? Practically unheard of."

Kai spoke up. "Well, you don't have your memories either. So perhaps you aren't so common after all?"

Tala laughed. "Bah, you finding out that you're the crown prince is one out of billions. What are the chances of me actually being someone of importance...? I mean, if I was, I probably would've been found by now. You had someone looking for you and your family thought you were dead." Tala pointed out.

Kai shrugged. "You never know."

They missed Bryan's distant, yet calculating look staring out the train's window at the passing scenery.

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**Note: If something doesn't make sense, ask. I'll try to fix it and leave a message for it in the next chapter...I think I might've changed something unknowingly...not sure...but I can't find it right now...probably because I'm so familiar with the fic already...**

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**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!**

**Thank you VERY much to all those who've reviewed. I'll reply to you guys when I have time...its quite a busy time right now... I'll try to get the next one out by New Year's...I'm loaded with a TON of projects though...reviews will definitely help encourage me though :D **

**:D I hope this is a nice Christmas present...and its extra long too! Now how about giving me a present and reviewing? Please? Pwetty pwetty pwetty pwease:D  
**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
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